Glider crash injures man, teen

STAFF REPORT

MIDDLEFIELD — A Bazetta Township man and a 13-year-old passenger were hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries after their glider crashed near the Geauga County Airport on Sunday afternoon.

David Nuss, 52, of Bazetta Road, was taken to a local hospital and then flown by helicopter to Cleveland Metro Hospital. He is in good condition.

Nuss is president of and instructor for the Cleveland Soaring Club, a glider club, said Patty Fulop, manager of the airport.

His passenger was Victoria Ponti of Eastlake, who is also a member of the club, Fulop said. Ponti is in stable condition at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.

The Chardon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the glider, which has no engine, was being towed into the air by another aircraft. The two aircraft just left the airport when a vibration was felt, the highway patrol said.

The tow line was released so the glider could return to the airport and land, but the glider went out of control and struck a utility pole before crashing into the parking lot of Middlefield Farm and Garden, the highway patrol said. The business was closed at the time, and no one was hurt on the ground.

The accident occurred at 3:47 p.m. about a mile south of Middlefield just across from the airport.

Fulop said the club has used the airport for gliding on weekends and certain weekdays for about two years, and this is the first time there has been an accident.